HEVC to HEIF Converter

How to Convert HEVC to HEIF Online

1. Upload Your HEVC File: Drag and drop or click "+ Add Files" to load a raw .hevc H.265 elementary stream or an HEVC-encoded clip exported from FFmpeg, x265, or a hardware encoder. Batch is supported — drop several streams into the queue.
2. Pick a Frame Selection Mode: Choose Specific Frame to grab a single HEIF still at a chosen timestamp (Time in seconds, e.g. 12.5 for the frame 12.5s into the clip). Choose Multiple Screenshots to extract a sequence and set the Capture Rate — 0.1s (10 fps), 0.2s (5 fps), 0.5s (2 fps), or every 1 / 2 / 3 / 5 / 10 seconds for sparser sampling. Each captured frame is wrapped in its own HEIF container.
3. Set Quality and Resize (Optional): Pick an Image Quality Preset (Highest, Very High, High, Medium, Low, Very Low, Lowest) or set a target file size by percentage / exact KB-MB. Choose a Resolution Preset (144P, 240P, 360P, 480P, 720P, 1080P, 1440P, 2160P / 4K, 4320P / 8K), scale by percentage, or set custom width × height in pixels. Tune the Framerate when capturing multiple frames if you want a sparser or denser sample of the source stream.
4. Convert and Download: Click Convert. Frames decode and rewrap in your browser session and download individually or as a ZIP — no sign-up, no watermark, no upload to a third-party server.

Why Convert HEVC to HEIF?

HEVC (H.265, ITU-T / ISO MPEG-H Part 2, finalized 2013) is a video codec — a stream of intra and inter frames compressed with the same engine that powers iPhone camera rolls, Apple TV 4K, and 4K Blu-ray. HEIF (High Efficiency Image File Format, ISO/IEC 23008-12) is a still-image container designed by the same MPEG group that designed HEVC: it wraps one or more HEVC-encoded intra frames inside an ISOBMFF box structure, the same family of boxes MP4 uses. Converting HEVC to HEIF is essentially picking a frame out of the video stream, keeping it at the HEVC compression level it was already encoded at, and rewriting it as an .heif still image. The output is a still image — typically 50% smaller than JPEG at matched visual quality and capable of carrying 10-bit color depth that JPEG simply can't.

• iPhone-native still image format from raw HEVC streams — HEIF has been the iPhone's default photo container since iOS 11 (September 2017). Pulling a HEIF from an HEVC stream gives you a still that previews and AirDrops natively in Photos with no conversion prompt, the same way camera roll images behave.
• 10-bit HDR poster frames from 10-bit HEVC — HEVC Main 10 carries 10-bit color (HLG, HDR10, Dolby Vision metadata). HEIF preserves that 10-bit pipeline; JPEG is 8-bit SDR only and visibly clips highlights when you re-encode HDR HEVC to it. Useful for Sony A7S III, Canon R5, GoPro HERO12, and iPhone 12 Pro and later footage.
• Storage savings on photo libraries and backups — A 1080p HEIF lands around 80-200 KB at the High preset vs 200-500 KB for the same JPEG. Across a season of episode thumbnails on a Synology, an iCloud photo library, or a near-full iPhone, that's roughly half the bytes.
• Plex / Infuse / VLC / Apple TV poster frames — HEIF decodes natively in macOS Finder, iOS Photos, Plex, Infuse, and VLC for iOS. Bulk-extract poster frames from a folder of HEVC clips once and the thumbnails render at the original color depth without a JPEG round-trip.
• Web-optimized stills for modern Safari — Safari 17+ on macOS Sonoma and iOS 17+ decode HEIF natively. For an Apple-leaning audience, a HEIF <picture> source halves bandwidth vs JPEG with no quality loss.
• Print-quality stills from 4K HEVC — A 3840×2160 HEIF at the Highest preset preserves 10-bit color and detail for poster prints and magazine spreads at a fraction of TIFF or PNG file size.

If you need broader compatibility (every Windows machine without the HEIF extensions, every email client, every legacy CMS), use HEVC to JPG instead. For lossless print-quality stills, HEVC to PNG is safer. For modern web with the smallest possible files, HEVC to AVIF compresses tighter than HEIF and decodes in every modern browser.

HEIF vs HEIC vs JPEG — Format Comparison

HEIF and HEIC carry the same payload — both wrap HEVC-encoded stills in the ISO/IEC 23008-12 container. The practical difference is the file extension and how the OS labels it: Apple writes .heic from camera apps, while .heif is the spec-neutral name for the same container. Some viewers strict-match on the extension.

HEIF Quality Preset Quick Guide

Frequently Asked Questions

Is HEIF the same thing as HEIC?

The payload is the same — both are ISO/IEC 23008-12 containers wrapping one or more HEVC intra-coded stills. The distinction is the file extension. Apple writes camera-roll photos with the .heic extension by default; .heif is the format-neutral name from the ISO spec and what most non-Apple tooling emits. Some viewers strict-match on the extension, so if you need an iPhone-typed file specifically use HEVC to HEIC instead. For everything else, HEIF and HEIC behave identically.

Why does this converter accept HEVC video as the input?

A raw .hevc file is an H.265 elementary stream — a sequence of intra and inter frames in the same compression engine HEIF uses internally. Pulling a HEIF from HEVC is "wrap an intra frame in the still-image container" rather than a heavy re-encode. The result is a still image at roughly the same compression level the source was at, with no generational quality loss from re-encoding.

Does this produce animated HEIF or single-frame HEIF stills?

This converter produces single-frame HEIF stills — one image per extracted frame. Use Specific Frame for one timestamp (one HEIF still) or Multiple Screenshots at a chosen Capture Rate to get a sequence of stills (one HEIF per captured frame, downloaded individually or as a ZIP). The HEIF container does support image sequences (Apple's Live Photos use this), but consumer tooling for animated HEIF playback is narrowly supported outside Apple's Photos app — most CMSes and viewers treat HEIF as a still format. For a looping output, convert to HEVC to GIF or HEVC to WebP instead.

Will the HEIF preserve HDR from a 10-bit HEVC source?

If the HEVC stream is Main 10 profile (10-bit) and carries HDR metadata (HLG, HDR10, or Dolby Vision) and you keep the quality preset at Very High or higher, HEIF can preserve 10-bit color and the wide gamut. JPEG is 8-bit SDR only and visibly clips highlights when re-encoded from HDR HEVC. For critical HDR work verify the HEIF in a 10-bit-capable viewer (Apple Photos on macOS or iOS, Preview on a P3 display).

Can I open HEIF files on Windows?

Windows 10 (build 1809+) and Windows 11 support HEIF after installing the free HEIF Image Extensions and HEVC Video Extensions from the Microsoft Store. The HEVC extension is paid for end users on some SKUs but ships free on most OEM Windows installs. For older Windows, IrfanView and XnView decode HEIF, or convert to JPG for universal compatibility.

Can I extract just one frame at a specific timestamp?

Yes — pick Specific Frame in step 2 and enter the Time in seconds (12.5 means 12.5s into the clip). The decoder seeks to that timestamp in the HEVC stream and writes one HEIF. Useful for grabbing a poster frame, a documentation screenshot, or a single key moment from a longer encoded clip.

How does HEIF compare to AVIF for stills extracted from HEVC?

AVIF (AV1 still image) is typically 20-40% smaller than HEIF at matched quality and decodes natively in Chrome 85+, Firefox 93+, and Safari 16+. HEIF's advantage is native Apple-ecosystem integration — it shows up as a regular photo in iOS Photos, supports Live Photos, and AirDrops without re-encoding. AVIF is also royalty-free; HEIF inherits HEVC's patent licensing, which is why Chrome and Firefox don't decode HEIF natively. For modern web galleries, HEVC to AVIF is the better pick; for an Apple-first workflow, HEIF is more natural.

How many HEIF stills will I get from a Multiple Screenshots run?

Multiply duration by capture rate. A 60-second HEVC clip at "1 second per frame" produces 60 HEIFs; at 0.1s (10 fps) it produces 600. A 4K source at 10 fps for a minute can hit 15-30 MB total even in HEIF — start with 1 fps or 0.5 fps and refine downward. The output ZIP is named after the source stream with sequential frame numbers.

Will my files be uploaded to your servers?

Conversion runs locally in your browser session — files don't go to a third-party storage layer for processing. Output HEIFs download directly to your device. No sign-up, no watermark, no file count cap. For very large 4K HEVC sources, the browser tab handles the decode and HEIF rewrap locally, which is CPU-intensive but private.